Simon of Taranto

Simon, Prince of Taranto (1152-) was the Prince of Taranto under the Kingdom of Sicily. The illegitimate son of Roger II of Sicily, he led a failed 1161 revolt against his half-brother William I of Sicily when William took Taranto from him, and Simon was exiled. By 1187, however, he had been granted the County of Girgenti as a fief.

Biography
Simon was born in 1152, an illegitimate son of King Roger II of Sicily. His father died in 1154, and his half-brother King William I of Sicily dispossesed Simon of Taranto, as William believed that Taranto was not fit to be ruled by a bastard. In 1161, he led a revolt in the city of Palermo with Tancred of Lecce, the bastard son of Roger III of Apulia. The two princes captured the king and massacred the Muslims of Sicily, and the populace of Sicily wanted Simon to become king. However, the rebellion broke down before he could become king, and the insurrectionists freed William and the other imprisoned nobles. Simon was exiled, and he did not try to seize the crown on William's death, as Henry of Montescaglioso took Simon's titles instead.